Cisco 300-745 SDSI

Cisco delivers its concentration exams as timed, proctored tests at Pearson VUE test centers or online, using multiple-choice, multiple-response, and drag-and-drop items. Some Cisco exams also include scenario or simulation-style items. The official exam page lists the current format, so check it there before scheduling.

Cisco does not publish a fixed question count, and the number and mix of items can vary between candidates. The current time limit and item count are stated on Cisco's official exam topics page and in your Pearson VUE scheduling confirmation. Plan your pacing from those official figures rather than from secondhand reports.

Passing scores are scaled and set per exam, and pricing varies by region and currency. Cisco publishes the current passing score and exam price on its official certification and exam pages, and Pearson VUE shows the exact amount at checkout. Confirm both there before you book.

It is a professional-level concentration exam, so it assumes solid security and networking fundamentals. Candidates with production exposure to Secure Workload and FTD usually need less time than candidates learning both products from scratch. Expect several weeks of lab work if either product is new to you; the policy and dependency-mapping domain deserves the most attention.

Start with Secure Workload architecture and cluster concepts, because policy discovery builds on them. Then move to installation and initialization, agent and agentless visibility, and finally policy lifecycle and enforcement. Study Secure Firewall separately afterward, covering FTD and FMC architecture, access control, NAT, and prefilter, so the two product areas do not blur together.

Cisco enforces a waiting period between attempts at the same exam, and the exact policy is published on Cisco's certification site. Check that page for the current rule and any fees. Use the score report to identify weak domains, then redo the related labs before booking a second attempt.

The topic outline covers both, but the weights are not equal: Secure Workload architecture, installation, visibility, and policy account for most of the exam. Secure Firewall topics carry a smaller share. If you must prioritize, be strong on workload segmentation and policy lifecycle first, then cover firewall access control, NAT, and prefilter.

Candidates often memorize menu paths without understanding why a policy behaves as it does. Others confuse agent-based and agentless visibility, mix up scope and tenant boundaries in Secure Workload, or misread NAT order relative to access control on FTD. Practicing in a lab and tracing traffic end to end fixes most of these gaps.

No. It is a concentration exam that counts toward a Cisco security certification when combined with the required core exam. Check Cisco's certification pages for the current core exam and any recertification requirements, since those details change over time and are not covered here.

This page is independent study material written from the published topic outline and is not affiliated with Cisco. Product behavior and exam logistics change, so verify specifics against Cisco documentation and the official exam page. Items flagged for review are marked as such rather than presented as confirmed fact.